Combined barrel cap and packing tray



Sept 8, 1925. v I 1,552,935

C. C. LOCKWOOD ET AL COMBINED BARREL CAP AND PACKING TRAY Filed Dec. 22. 1922 //l\ 7 6 K E76 67/ 62 JZLNVENTORSM W mA TTORNEYS.

in barrels, and at the same time Patented Sept. 8, 1925.

UNITED ST-ATES PATENT FoFFIcE,

cnrrroan c. LOCKWOOD AND enemas A. Locxwoon, or umnono, new roux.

commune BARREL car AND recxme TRAY.

l App lication filed December-22, 19,22. Serial No. 608,423.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known hat we, CLIFFORD C. LooK W001) and CHARLES A. LocKwooD, citizens of the United States, residing at Marlboro, in the count of Ulster and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Barrel Caps and PackingTrays; andwe do hereby declare the following. to be a full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being. had: 'to the accompanying drawings, and 'to' characters of reference marked This inventionrelates to a novel, combined barrel cap v and packing tray for packing fruit and other products in shipping bar- The invention has for its principal ObJect "toprovide a simple, cheap and easily mam ulated device,made of paper or other 'suita le material, which serves as a tray to receive a top layer of articles to be packed rovides a protective cap between said top ayer of articles and the 'head of the barrel when arranged within the latter.

It is a common practice, when packing fruit, such e. g. as apples, in shipping barrels, to open a barrel at its bottom end wlth the same standing on its closed ultimate to end, and then to arrange within the barre a top layer of selected fruit, after whlch the balance of the content of, the barrel is packed into the interior and the bottom of the barrel closed, whereupon the barrel is reversed end for end so that the top end with its layer of selected fruit is uppermost. This practice entails considerable laborupon the part of the packers, requiring the latter to lean over the open end of the barrel and reach down into 'the interior to laboriously place the selected fruit one by one in place at the temporarylower interlor end of the barrel to form the desired ultimate top layer durability, in the form of hereon, which form a part of this specification.

a combinedcap and tray',"which will ermit' of the preliminary packing of se ected top layers of fruit or the like outside of the barrel at a bench or table, and then utilizing such means as a carrying tray for inserting such complete pre-packed top layer into the barrel, the said means when thus inserted thereupon serving as a protective cap for protecting said top layer of fruitor the like against undue bruising or other injury during transit of the barrel.

f The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawin s, in which "Figure 1 is a top p an view of the'novel combined barrel cap and tray made according to and embodying the principles of this invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same;- Figure 3 is a vertical cross section of the same, taken on line 3-3 in said Fi ure 2; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a arrel, having a portion of its sides broken away to show the arrangement of the pre-packed cap and tray operatively positioned within the ultimate top end of the same; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the novel combined barrel cap and tray made according to and embodying the princi les of this invention; and, Figure 6 1s a 5) an view of a blank out of which said mo ified form of combined cap and tray may be made, drawn on a reduced scale.

Similar characters of reference are employed in all of the hereinabove described views, to indicate corres onding parts.

Referring now to sai drawings, the reference character 1 indicates the flat main body of the novel combined barrel ca and tray, the same being provided at an surrounding its periphery with an upstanding flange 2 having diametrically opposed tabs or extensions 3 projecting upwardly from the free edge thereof adapted to provide finger pieces for handling the cap ortray structure. Preferably sald combined cap and tray structure is made out of hea paper, card-board, straw-board or some suc cheap material which is sufliciently rigid to said view being retain its shape when in use, and yet is of to permit of the devices being nested together in bundles or stacks for shipping and storage. 4

In utilizing the novel combined cap and tray as an aid in quickly and easily packing barrels, e. g. with apples, the packers may arrange the trays on a bench, table or sorting platform, and may then select the fruit which is arranged in a layer within the tray same occupies the desired position within the ultimate top of the barrel 4, as shown in Figure 4 of the drawings. It will thus be evident that the packer is not required to lean over the open bottom end of the barrel and laboriously place and fit the first layer of selected fruit piece by piece into the ultimate top end of the same, and consequently not only is discomfort avoided but time and labor is saved. After the combined tray and cap with the first layer of fruit is thus arranged within the barrel, the remainder of the interior space therein is filled with apples, the bottom head of the barrel is fitted in place and secured, and the barrel is reversed, read to be stenciled on the top head. The com ined tray and cap device now serves as a protection for the selected top layer of fruit, tending to prevent bruising or other injury of the same by contact with hard surface of the barrel sides and top head. When the barrel reaches an ultimate,destination, the top head is removed and the combined cap and tray may be easily withdrawn exposing the first layer of selected fruit in the usual manner.

Referring now to Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings, there is illustrated thereby a modified form or construction of the novel combined barrel cap and tray. This modified construction of the device is produced from a rectangular sheet of heavy paper or the like 5 shown in Figure 6. The said rectangular sheet is pressed so as to upturn and pleat the marginal portions, whereby the device assumes the cap or tray like form shown in Figure 5, the same then comprising the flat main body 6 of circular shape, from the periphery of which springs the surrounding upturned and pleate upstanding flange 7, the corners of the rectangular sheet, extending upwardly beyond the upper edges of the flange 7 to provide pairs of diametrically opposed tabs or extensions 8 adapted to provide finger pieces for handling the device in use. The. manner of usin the device in the above described modified form, and the manner of arranging and disposing the same with a top layer of fruit within the barrel is the same as already set forth in connection with the description of the list mentioned form of the combined cap and tray, all of which will be well understood without necessity for repetition. lVe are aware that. some changes may be made in the detail form andstructure of the novel combined cap and tray without departing from the scope of this invention as shown and described, and as defined in the appended claim, hence, we do not limit ourselves to the exact details as above set forth and as shown in the drawings.

Having thus described the nature and objects of our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s:.'

A facing tray for packaging fruit adapted to have fruit arranged on it and to be lowered to the bottom of'a container and to remain intact therein until the container is opened at the end containing the tray, said tray comprising a bottom portion adapted to engage the facing layer of fruit and constituting the top cover end disk for the interior of the container, and a narrow annular side wall adapted to confine the facing fruit against lateral displacement while it is being lowered and constantly thereafter until the container is opened and extending from the periphery of said bottom portion, the tray side wall and bottom having an outer contour substantially conforming to the inner surface of that end of the container in which the tray is used, the combined bottom and side Wall providing a tray sufiiciently rigid to support without collapsing the weight of the facing layers of fruit while the tray is packed, lowered into a container and constantly thereafter until the container is opened.

In testimony that we claim the invention set forth above we have hereunto set our hands this fifth day of December, 1922.

CLIFFORD C. LOCKWOOD. CHARLES A. LOCKWOOD. 

